Prices, sales of homes increase

Wednesday

May 23, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Sales of existing homes in the U.S. rose 3.4 percent in April, and sales of distressed properties tapered off as the slow housing market recovery takes further root, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

Staff and wire reports

Sales of existing homes in the U.S. rose 3.4 percent in April, and sales of distressed properties tapered off as the slow housing market recovery takes further root, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

Sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.62 million, from a downwardly revised 4.47 million in March. The realty group initially reported that March sales came in at 4.48 million.

Sales rose 4.4 percent in the West.

Last week, the California Association of Realtors said that both sales and prices increased in April. California sales increased to their highest level in more than two years, and median prices in the state rose above $300,000 for the first time in 16 months.

In San Joaquin County, home sales slumped in April, falling nearly 17 percent from the year before, but pending sales continued the steady climb that began in December, according to Trendgraphix.com

The median price rose to $165,000 last month, up about 3.7 percent from March but within the range where prices have hovered for the past 12 months.

Pending home sales in the county have jumped nearly 57 percent since December, with 1,141 sales pending last month. That roughly equals the number of housing units on the market locally.

However, statewide pending home sales slipped in April but were higher than a year earlier for the 12th consecutive month, CAR said Tuesday.

Median prices shot up 10.1 percent to $177,400 on a year-over-year basis, the biggest percentage rise since January 2006. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said that because of declining distressed-property activity, the mix of homes is weighted more toward larger, more expensive houses.

Last month, the share of equity sales - 58 percent - in California reached its highest level in nearly four years, CAR said.

Most other price gauges have pointed more to stabilization than such large improvements, and Yun anticipates prices will climb 1 to 3 percent for the year.

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